NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union says a Louisiana school suspended a 13-year-old Native American boy because of his long hair, which the group says he grew out for cultural and religious reasons.

State ACLU executive director Marjorie Esman said Friday that the group had sent letters to the school and the school board asking for assurances that Seth Chaisson won’t be suspended again. She says he grew out his hair because his religious beliefs have grown deeper.

Esman says the teen was repeatedly reprimanded because of his hair before being suspended Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ed Foster, supervisor of child welfare and attendance for the Livingston Parish School System, says he has scheduled a meeting with the boy’s mother. He said he could not discuss the situation further, citing privacy concerns.

Violent police encounters in California last year led to the deaths of 157 people and six officers, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday in a report that provides the first statewide tally on police use-of-force incidents.